This year we took another road trip as we had Merlin passes again but they were premium ones this time

Our road trip was fairly extensive, travelling from Norfolk to Warwickshire onto Manchester and then finally the mighty Blackpool

So, let's start off with Warwick Castle. I hope to get reports up from Manchester and Blackpool, later.

We entered the castle grounds through the Peacock gardens.

The Birds Of Prey display was brilliant as always.

The castle itself is very impressive.

There was a Horrible Histories section again, this year. There are various props and costumes to have fun with.

Ha!

This actress was brilliant. She really made history fun.

A lovely scene.

Knights jousting, competing and fighting.

I tried a Macro wildlife shot whilst relaxing on the grass.

The huge and impressive Trebuchet. It's absolutely magnificent and is fired twice a day.

We had a great visit to Warwick Castle. The weather was kind and it wasn't too busy. The Merlin passes came in handy with generous discounts on our food and drinks and free parking. (Parking here is extortionate.)

Warwick Castle is a fun day out but in my honest opinion, suffers too much from cash grabbing tactics. There are plenty of extras within the grounds but they cost, even if you have a Merlin pass. I'd go so far to say that it feels more like a theme park than an educational piece of heritage If you can get over this though, it is a good day out.